Vorwald, Durkan and Pratt, Experimental Studies of Asbestosis (1950)

A 95-page typescript report dated June 1, 1950, from the Saranac Laboratory of the Edward L. Trudeau Foundation, by Arthur J. Vorwald, Thomas M. Durkan and Philip C. Pratt. A note on the title page says the animal studies were begun more than twenty years earlier by Dr. Leroy U. Gardner and were nearly complete when he died in October 1946. The report describes inhalation and injection experiments with several kinds of asbestos dust on guinea pigs, rats, rabbits, cats, mice and dogs, and ends with tables and photomicrographs.

What it shows

The report's "Discussion and Summary" concluded that long asbestos fibers were "essential" to producing asbestosis in animals while short fibers were not, that the reaction came on faster as the concentration of long fibers rose, and that typical experimental asbestosis was produced by dust containing less than 1 million long fibers per cubic foot of air. It found that inhaled asbestos had "no more than a mildly unfavorable effect" on tuberculosis in guinea pigs. The summary does not discuss cancer. The acknowledgment credits "the group of companies of the asbestos industry whose generous financial support made this investigation possible."

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's legal department indexed the Motley 1,000 in 1984. Its index describes this document as follows:

Document entitled "Experimental Studies of Asbestosis," authored by A.J. Vorwald, T.M. Durkan, and P.C. Pratt of the Saranac Lab, dated 6/1/50.

About this copy

This is document 66 of the Motley 1,000, from the set the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust's records facility certified as true copies, pages CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-000601 to CRMC-Motley1000-Subj-000695.